Tag: David Hamill

At their regular meeting on Tuesday, April 17, Ranson City Council members unanimously approved proposals some two years in the making, enacting a new zoning code and Comprehensive Plan designed to guide growth and redevelopment for decades to come.

“There was never any doubt these measures would pass into law,” said Ranson Mayor A. David Hamill. “That’s because, from the beginning, we involved everybody – property owners, business people, developers and elected officials from both Ranson and Charles Town. We all had a hand in turning our ideas into plans and ordinances. By making them law, we’re signaling to our partners in the federal agencies that funded the planning and to those considering investment in our region that we’re ready for a new era…” [cont.]

On Wednesday, September 14, Ranson and Charles Town citizens and leaders sloshed into Charles Town’s Old Opera House from a dusk downpour to celebrate the conclusion of an intensive week of planning with their consulting team.

“Unless you were on the third floor of city hall this week to watch these people work,” said Ranson Mayor A. David Hamill, “it would be hard to imagine how hard they went at it…” [cont.]

[UPDATED: 09-12-11, 9:55am] There were lots of reasons not to show up Sunday night at Ranson’s Independent Fire Hall to talk about planning and zoning.

It was the 10th anniversary of 9-11-2001, when many families chose to spend the day together. A gulley-washer of a rain storm blew through just before meeting time. And there were the distractions of Sunday sports on the tube. Yet some 60 folks dropped by for the Ranson Renewed/Charles Town Connected open house.

“I want to thank everyone who made this effort,” Ranson Mayor A. David Hamill told the crowd. “Give yourself a round of applause…” [cont.]

From September 8 through the 14th, 2011, we as a community charted the course for our next century.

In an unprecedented week-long mega-workshop, city officials, residents, business community and a team of international consultants considered ideas and actions to help guide Ranson, Charles Town, and Jefferson County towards a future rich in opportunity for our families and businesses.

The Ranson-Charles Town community was selected by HUD, DOT and EPA to serve as a national model for how small rural cities on the fringe of a major metropolitan area can foster sustainable economic development, transit, and community livability through targeted and strategic planning and infrastructure investments.

To facilitate this transformative change, planning funds facilitated the following linked and interdependent project components:

+ Develop a new zoning overlay district for downtown, as well as undeveloped, outlying areas of the Cities;

+ Redesign the Fairfax Boulevard-George Street Corridor into a "complete street" with green infrastructure, to promote a better transportation route for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit;

+ Design a new regional Charles Washington Commuter Center in downtown Charles Town that will facilitate access to regional rail and bus transit systems for Ranson, Charles Town and Jefferson County; and

+ Create a master plan for downtown Ranson that spurs job growth and economic development in former dilapidated manufacturing sites.

This archival site tells the story of that process.

“We couldn’t be happier about the way this is shaping up,” said Ranson Mayor A. David Hamill at the time. “It is our goal to continue evolving Ranson into a vibrant community where residents can live, work, and recreate within cohesive neighborhoods."

"Exciting things are beginning to happen, and I expect the coming years to be even more exciting as the real work begins.”